How does the Apple X Leather Folio Sleep/Wake work?

I'm just curios how the iPhone X Leather folio works? Is it a magnet? Is it new tech? I'd love a tear down to see what component Apple is hiding inside to make the sleep wake feature of the Folio work.

Update

Just wanted to add a note. I own both the Folio and a NODUS wallet case.

The reason I'm asking this question is because I fancy myself a tinker'r.

The Folio sleep/wakes the screen consistently and its a feature of the folio I've come to love. The NODUS on the other hand does not.

Meaning if this were something managed by the ambient light sensor, technically speaking the NODUS would work just the same as the Folio. The result is that when I place my phone in my pocket or pull it out while in the NODUS case it wakes.

I can see the is screen on before I even flip open the cover from the side. This never happens inside of the Folio. It stays asleep until I open the case. This in return creates an issue where I either have to turn off raise to wake or I have to sacrifice battery life. Neither of which is a great big deal.

Rather I'm just curios what method Apple is using to recognize the Folio.

In return, maybe I can engineer a way to add the feature to my NODUS. I'd love it if iFixit would tear apart a Folio to see what might be hiding inside or to provide evidence as to how Apple is magically doing this.

He is implying there is two magnets in the cover lid and a single one in the back cover.

He is also stating the two magnets on the cover poles are reversed so then the questions I would have here: Which one is for the hall sensor and if the back covers sensor is to enable the cover. It's going to take a bit more digging!

I think the rear hall sensor enable the auto sleep/wake function because it's in the rear so it's always active.

The article says that one front magnet should be for the hall sensor and the other for keep close the case using speaker's magnet. Looking at the pictures and the video the magnet for the hall sensor should be the more internal one.

The Leather folio is not very fancy. It is nothing more than the Apple leather case with a flap attached. Just like the case it snaps over the lip of the display. Wake is just using the light sensor within the phone.

Update (11/30/2017)

@captainsnowball - If you look at the X-Ray as well as the backside of the display unit there is no obvious hall sensor. It needs to be clear of any ferrous metals, the display's back plate appears to be steel. Even still the X-Ray view doesn't show any blip of a sensor. The cover has the magnet which grabs the steel of the back plate. See for your self:

If Apple is using a hall sensor they've hidden it quite well!

Update 12/1/2017

Here's Apple's Accessory Design Guidelines R4 where it reviews the dimensions of the iPhone X. I couldn't find any notation of a hall sensor or even magnets for either the iPhone 8, 8+ or X. You will find the iPad's have them.

And unless they are trying to reserve that functionality for themselves, which seems unlikely to me, that means that they have snuck in a completely different method for managing sleep/wake with the folio.

Here's my theory. I believe that the folio may contain an NFC transmitter located in the back of the case that lets the iPhone X know that the case has been attached to the phone. Then, when the case is closed, I suspect it is using the ambient light sensor to detect the cover is closed.

I'm going to run some tests this evening and see if I can determine if this is the case. I should be able to attach the case and use something dark to cover the sensor and receive a similar result if this is true.

@wilfromthefutr - The phone does indeed have a NFC interface but I don't see how that would apply here. It's used in ApplePay or metro turnstiles & buses (Japan and soon here in Boston). Are you thinking the IR camera?

Here's a teardown: iPhone X Teardown most likely it is the ambient light sensor, the same component that controls auto brightness and turns off the display when you put the phone up to your ear. So when the cover closes, it becomes dark and that turns off the display. Seems about right.

Update (11/30/2017)

Ah. Found this in apple support:

"When the folio case is closed is there a magnet or something along the lines of a magnet which keeps the case closed?

Asked by kris I from hull on Sep 14, 2017

Best Answer:

There is a magnet in the cover, but its utility is to wake the phone on opening the cover, not to keep the cover clamped shut. So if you drop the phone in this case, expect the cover to open."

I've seen the tear down of the iPhone X itself. Thanks for the link though. I appreciate the effort.

I would have assumed that the ambient light sensor would have been how Apple is managing to make the cover work as well, however, I've tested that theory both by placing my iPhone X in another wallet case and by manually covering the sensors myself. Neither work like the folio. My guess is the folio is using some type of component to tell the iPhone to sleep and wake the display and it doesn't appear to be magnets nor the ambient light sensor. I was hoping to see a tear down of the folio itself. I believe Apple is hiding something within the case much like a smart cover.

Most Apple devices use magnets to activate sleep/wake. If you have ever tried to put your finger over the camera, you will notice nothing happens. However, the magnets are what actually cause the change.

Here’s an interesting find. I used a much higher powered magnet this evening to see if I could trigger anything and even though I was unable to trigger sleep wake I discovered that there is a magnet in the top left quadrant of the screen. When I moved the magnet over that area the magnet was repulsed and flipped over staying tightly in place.

Another weird twist. I could not get the case to work when I got it and I found out it was due to the metal disc on the apple logo I put there before putting on the case so that I could use it in my magnet car holder.

I put it over the apple logo because any lower and the wireless charging wouldn't work.

Theory 1: The disc is blocking some sort of NFC or other sensor between the phone and the case, making other magnetic cases inoperable for wake/sleep.

Theory 2: Don't have a theory two but it would be related to the metal and magnets somehow.

Hi, I had the same problem. I purchased an Apple Leather Folio Case for my iPhoneX and was very happy with the way that it locked and unlocked the phone on closing and opening the wallet. The happiness evaporated when I purchased a Ztylus Switch 6 case that enables you to take 180 degree wide angle shots, 90 degree wide angle shots, 10x and 20x macro and two telephoto settings. The Switch 6 has the advantage that the 6 little supplementary lenses are fixed into a Ztylus case with no cover that locked/unlocked the screen. Taking the Apple Wallet off and putting the Switch 6 on every time I wanted to take a macro shot was painful - plus I did not want to have to carry the Switch 6 with me everywhere. How can I incorporate the unlock/lock features of of the Apple Wallet into the Switch 6 was the question? After A LOT of obvious experimentation (all of which failed!), I carefully separated the leather back from the plastic enclosure that holds the phone using a surgical scalpel. This 'operation' is quite difficult as the plastic is very firmly bonded to the leather. About half way through this operation, I found that there is in fact some sort of (non-magnetic - maybe RFID?) sensor embedded in the back of the plastic part of the Apple iPhone that is responsible for picking up the magnetic field in the bottom left of the wallet cover. It is located right under the impressed Apple logo on the rear of the wallet. Putting my $129.00 (Australian) price of the Apple Wallet in jeopardy, I carefully cut out the sensor with the scalpel. Cutting it out without damaging the sensor is relatively easy as the leather is IMPOSSIBLE to separate from the plastic under the sensor. The sensor itself is approximately elliptical in shape and 31 mm long by 26 mm wide (apologies Yankees but the rest of the world has ceased using Imperial units of length!). The top of the sensor is located 37.6 mm from the outer top edge of the plastic enclosure. After more experimentation, I found that simply placing the sensor on the rear of the Switch 6 plastic case and putting the magnetic flap of the Apple Wallet on the screen of the iPhone X did not lock the phone. The sensor had to be right against the back of the iPhone X and within 0.5 mm of its original position for the Apple Wallet cover to lock/unlock the iPhone X. So an elliptical hole 34 mm long by 30 mm wide had to be cut in the Switch 6 plastic case using a heated scalpel. Then, using electrical insulating tape to cover the whole (and protect the iPhone X) sticky side rearwards, I was able to insert the iPhone X into the Switch 6 case and position the sensor precisely so that the iPhone X locked and unlocked when the Apple Wallet cover was placed over the screen of the iPhone X. Having determined the correct position of the sensor, I embedded it permanently in the hole in the Switch 6 case using quick setting epoxy resin (the insulating tape prevents the epoxy contacting the back of the iPhone). Once the epoxy had set (15 minutes), I removed the iPhone and the insulating tape from the Switch 6 case, reinserted the iPhone and performed more judicious scalpel surgery on the remnants of the Apple Wallet so that I could bond what was left of the leather back of the Wallet to the back of the Switch 6 case using more quick-setting epoxy resin so that the flap of the Wallet folded over the screen of the iPhone and locked it, just as it did when originally purchased. So - complete success. I am now the (only?) owner of a Switch 6 - Apple Wallet hybrid case that allows me to have the 6 little supplementary lenses on the iPhone with me at all times and a case that locks the iPhone X whenever I close the wallet AUTOMATICALLY, and unlocks the iPhone AUTOMATICALLY when the wallet is opened. It's only a little more bulky than the original Apple Wallet, but that is a penalty I'm prepared to live with as I'm able to snap macro shots and wide angle shots whenever and wherever. Why the Ztylus folks couldn't have spoken to the Apple case makers and produced a better product that made all this tinkering unnecessary is beyond me!

Nice work. Personally I Would never have taken apart an original Apple folio cover that cost 100+ dollars. On ebay there are some cheaper wallet cover that has a perfectly working auto lock/unlock function. I bought a Dux Ducis Skin Pro for less than 10$ and it’s well built with nice finishes (obviously no leather) and unlike the Apple Folio has some supplementary magnets around the edge to keep close the case.

Having said this, could you post some pictures of your creation? Sounds interesting...

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